Regional Reports

Hedge fund managers were on track to record their worst year since the 2008 global financial crisis as the combined onslaught of the global trade tension, Fed rate hikes, and various political concerns weighed on their returns. The <em>Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index</em> was down 2.53% as of November 2018 year-to-date, slightly ahead of the underlying equity markets as represented by the MSCI AC World Index which slumped 2.72% over the same period. The industry kicked off the year with strong performance throughout January 2018, continuing the trend observed by the hedge fund industry in 2017. However, market uncertainty arose when the Trump administration imposed higher tariffs against imported Chinese goods due to their alleged unfair trade practices.

The Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Index slumped 2.08% as of October 2018 year-to-date, ahead of the underlying equity market as represented by MSCI AC Europe IMI (Local) which declined 7.19% over the same period. The region’s equity markets have suffered from the pressure exerted by various political concerns in Italy and the United Kingdom. Unrealistic election promises by the Italian government led to a 2019 budgetary plan which was contradictory to their pledge of cutting down their debt, prompting criticism at Brussels.

The Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index was up 2.14% as of September 2018 year-to-date, ahead of the MSCI EM Latin America IMI Index which declined 0.19% over the same period. The markets showed optimism on the outcome of the recent Brazilian election, as it entails the economic policy framework for the next four years. Brazil’s economy is currently undergoing an economic recovery from its deep recession between 2014 and 2016, which was caused by declining commodity prices and political concerns. As a result, Brazil was the only geographic mandate in the region that were in the positive territory, gaining 3.70% year-to-date.

Emerging market mandated hedge funds were down 3.96% year-to-date, as they struggled to mitigate the losses suffered from underlying equity markets, as represented by the 5.27% loss posted by the MSCI Emerging Market IMI Index (Local). The Eurekahedge Emerging Markets Hedge Fund Index was down in seven months throughout the first three quarters of 2018, marking it as one of the worst years for emerging market hedge funds since 2011.

North American hedge funds were up 3.39% as of August 2018 year-to-date, outperforming their peers focusing on other regions, owing to the robust economy of the United States which was supported by the Trump administration’s tax cut policy. The strong economy led the Federal Reserve to tighten their monetary policy by gradually increasing their short-term interest rates to contain the low unemployment rate, stabilise inflation, and avoid overheating the economy. The rate hikes made the US bond market attractive to investors due to the rising bond yields, causing a massive equity market selloff in early February this year. The North American equity markets have since recovered, boosted by strong corporate earnings season, which saw more than 80% of the large-cap companies comprising the S&P 500 index beating Q2 analyst estimates.

The Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund Index was down 1.57% year-to-date, and ended up as the only major regional mandate within the Eurekahedge database that was in negative territory over the first seven months of 2018. Asian hedge funds traded under the pressure of the escalating US-China trade war. The United States president Donald Trump officially fired the first shot in the trade war by imposing a 25% tariff to US$34 billion of imported Chinese goods on July 6, 2018 in response to China’s alleged unfair trade practices. The move resulted in China’s retaliatory tariff of the same magnitude on the US agriculture products, which took effect on the same date. After the first tranche of the US and China trade tariffs, the US president proposed another 25% tariff on US$200 billion of imports and further escalated the trade friction between the two largest economies in the world. China’s two mainland stock exchanges continued to slump since the beginning of the year as the impact of the tari

The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index gained 0.02% as of June 2018 year-to-date, showing its worst 1H performance since 1999. The global economy is at risk due to the escalating tension of trade war between the US and China, which started in January 2018 when the US president Donald Trump imposed a tariff on imported solar panels and washing machines. The tension arose when president Trump imposed further tariffs on US$50 billion’s worth of Chinese goods and threatened to implement the same tariffs on an additional US$200 billion of goods imported from the world’s second largest economy. According to the International Monetary Fund chief economist Maurice Obstfeld, the ongoing trade war is a near-term threat to global growth.

The Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Index gained 0.56% in the first half of 2018, ahead of their global peers’ performance as indicated by the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index which was up 0.39% over the same period. European hedge funds returned 7.10% in 2017 on the back of the underlying equity markets’ rally throughout the year, supported by strengthening oil and commodity prices, combined with the unwinding of geopolitical risks within the region. Going into 2018, market volatilities returned and weighed down on the alternative investment industry’s performance. Regional risk outlook seemed to be tilted downward as trade concerns over the steel and aluminium tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and the uncertainties looming over Brexit deals may pose as headwinds against the European economies for the upcoming months.

Absolute return funds ended the year 2017 with an impressive gain of 20.44%, beating their hedge fund and fund of hedge fund peers which returned 8.19% and 7.18% respectively, by riding on the global equity market rally which propelled the MSCI AC World IMI Index (Local) to rise 17.51% throughout the year. However, market volatilities struck back in the first half of 2018, and absolute return fund managers were down 0.39% as of May 2018 year-to-date, trailing behind hedge fund managers who returned 0.39% over the same period, owing to the downside protection provided by their hedging strategies.

Total assets managed by funds of hedge funds managers around the globe stood at US$397.5 billion as of April 2018. This continued the trend of contraction which has persisted since the end of 2010 despite the strong performance of multi-manager funds in 2017, as indicated by the 7.19% gain posted by the Eurekahedge Fund of Funds Index. The industry saw 24 launches and 193 closures last year, marking 2017 as the seventh consecutive year of population decline. Investor interest in the fund of hedge funds remained unsubstantial, with net redemptions and fund liquidations persisting as the recurring themes of the industry.

The Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index was up 5.06% as of March 2018 year-to-date, narrowly outperforming the underlying equity market as represented by the MSCI EM Latin America IMI Index which gained 4.76% over the same period. Latin American hedge fund managers continued to ride on their momentum from last year’s rally despite the difficult trading situations in the first quarter of 2018 which led to the poor performance of the global hedge fund managers who lost 0.30% on average in the quarter. Robust labour market and strengthening private consumption, combined with healthy commodity exports are expected to provide support for the region’s economies, while on the other hand protectionist policies in the United States and political uncertainties induced by the upcoming elections in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela are among the major downside risks for investors looking into Latin America.

Asian hedge funds ended 2017 with their strongest performance recorded since 2009, as reflected by the 16.94% gain posted by the Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund Index, which is more than double the 8.25% gain generated by their global peers represented by the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index over 2017. Incredible stock market rallies across the continent, especially in Greater China and India, combined with strong economic growth have greatly contributed to the performance of the hedge fund managers with exposure toward the region.

The North American hedge fund industry grew by US$136.4 billion over 2017, owing to the strong performance of hedge fund managers, as indicated by the 8.60% gain posted by the Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index over the year, which is its strongest performance since 2013. Thanks to the strong equity market performance around the globe, hedge funds with high long exposure to equities enjoyed the benefits of the record breaking equity market rallies. Despite falling behind their peers from Latin America and Asia, North American hedge funds kicked off 2018 with a decent performance, gaining 1.54% in January. Long/short equities funds topped the chart among strategic mandates with their 2.04% gain over the first month of 2018.

The Islamic finance industry is a niche market predominantly serving the needs of the world’s Muslim population. Products marketed under the umbrella of Islamic finance comply with a different investment philosophy as opposed to traditional investment philosophy which the rest of the world are familiar with.

Since the onset of the global financial crisis, investors worldwide have grown more cautious in undertaking investments and have increased their demands for underlying investment products and instruments to be monitored by international compliance standards. The Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities or ‘UCITS’ was developed to meet this post-crisis demand, as UCITS embodied by strong regulation resulting to a high level of investors protection with certain restrictions such as liquidity of the underlying assets and leverage caps to provide added transparency to investors.

The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index gained 7.32% as of November 2017 year-to-date, and is on track to post 12 consecutive months of positive gains in an annual year for the first time since 1999. Total assets managed by the global hedge fund industry currently stands at US$2413.0 billion, up US$188.2 billion over the year, which is the highest annual growth recorded since the end of 2013.

The Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Index gained 6.91% in 2017 year-to-date, slightly behind their global peers’ performance as indicated by the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index which gained 6.93% over the same period. Hedge fund managers have been able to capture a portion of the underlying market’s rally as European economies recover over the year. Strengthening oil and commodity prices, combined with the unwinding of geopolitical risks will continue to support the region’s growth in 2018. The hedge fund industry is expected to benefit from the strong market performance of the region over the next year.

The Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Funds Index gained 14.16% as of September 2017 year-to-date, while MSCI EM Latin America IMI Index posted 18.73% over the same period. Latin American hedge funds still outperformed their European and North American counterparts by a sizeable margin and remain attractive to investors in 2017, as indicated by the 2017 year-to-date investor inflows which stand just above the US$6 billion mark, bringing the cumulative AUM to match the previous 2013 year end peak at US$60.3 billion.

Assets for the North American hedge fund industry grew by US$68.5 billion through 2017 September year-to-date, with the majority of the growth being contributed by a resurgence in investor inflows into the industry. Managers posted performance based gains of US$22.0 billion in 2017, while the Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index was up 3.23% over the same period. Event Driven mandated hedge funds topped the performance table across strategic mandates returning 4.56% in 2017 thus far. Among geographic mandates, fund managers with exposure to Asia Pacific posted the best 2017 year-to-date performance by gaining 13.83%.

The Asian hedge fund industry has rebounded strongly in 2017, with managers running Asian mandates on track to outperform their global peers – Asia mandated hedge funds are up 9.86% relative to gains of 4.42% posted by the average global hedge fund. Investor appetite for the region has also picked up, with US$5.6 billion of net investor flows during the year as managers recorded US$6.7 billion in performance-based gains. Underlying Asia ex-Japan mandates have posted stellar returns, up 12.48% year-to-date helped by strong performance of underlying Greater China and India focused managers which are up 17.39% and 19.69% respectively for the year. Japanese hedge funds have also posted strong gains, and led on a year-to-date basis among developed market mandates with gains of 5.93%, while their North American and European peers gained 3.30% and 4.36% respectively.

The global hedge fund industry is on track to post a solid recovery in 2017as underlying markets trend upwards against the backdrop of subdued volatility in asset prices. The Trump presidency which was expected to spook market sentiment has been surprisingly constrained so far with regards to delivering on the campaign agenda, in particular policies pertaining to global trade. Rather, expectations of a fiscal expansion in the US lend support to markets early during the year while his first tour as President of the United States helped calm nerves overseas, barring the odd-handshakes and other presidential antics. Risk appetite generally improved during the year, with equity long bias strategies posting double digit gains whilst returns for macro and systematic managed futures strategies languished in a low volatility regime.

Emerging market mandated hedge funds have delivered exceptionally strong gains this year – the asset weighted US dollar denominated Mizuho-Eurekahedge Emerging Market Index is up 7.59% for the year, with underlying equity long/short hedge funds for the index gaining 9.75% in the seven months through July. Hedge funds running dedicated exposure to India, China and Latin America have all posted double-digit gains year-to-date and have been the key contributors to the stellar returns posted by emerging market mandated hedge funds.

The European hedge fund industry has been gaining since the start of the year despite political uncertainty in the Eurozone area. Investor allocations into the industry stood at US$3.5 billion over the first five months of 2017, though the first two months of the year show investors’ redemptions to the tune of US$2.8 billion as concern arose over the outcome of the French presidential election results.

Since the onset of the global financial crisis, investors worldwide have grown more cautious in undertaking investments and have increased their demands for underlying investment products and instruments to be monitored by international compliance standards. The Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities or ‘UCITS’ was developed to meet this post-crisis demand, as UCITS embodied by strong regulation resulting to a high level of investors protection with certain restrictions such liquidity of the underlying assets and leverage caps to provide added transparency to investors.

The Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index was up 7.10% in April year-to-date underperforming underlying markets as represented by the MSCI Latin American Index which were up 8.03% over the same period. The strength of Latin American hedge fund industry has been well-supported by the recovery of commodity prices during the first four months of the year, with the Ibovespa Index up a modest of 0.65%.

The global funds of hedge funds industry ended annual year 2016 with dampened investor enthusiasm with redemptions totalling US$46.4 billion for the year. Multi-managers’ performance took a slight beating over the past year, with the Eurekahedge Fund of Funds Index declining 0.12%, underperforming their hedge fund and long-only counterparts which gained 4.50% and 7.65% respectively. Going into 2017, multi-managers have posted impressive gains for Q1 2017, up 2.05% while single and long-only managers gained 2.35% and 6.65% over the same period respectively.

The hedge fund industry in Asia witnessed a difficult 2016 with investor redemptions a main contributor to the lethargy in asset base. Investors redeemed US$3.4 billion during the course of the year, with modest performance-based gains of US$1.6 billion recorded. Indeed, hedge funds globally have had a challenging year with strong redemption pressure from investors, and Asia as a whole was not isolated from this outlook.

Assets for the North American hedge fund industry grew by US$19.1 billion for annual year 2016, with strength led by manager performance as opposed to investor interest. Managers posted performance-based gains of US$34.0 billion in 2016, with the Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index was up 7.77% over the same period, outperforming regional peers. Event driven mandated hedge funds led performance across strategic mandates, up 18.19% in 2016 followed by distressed debt and multi-strategy hedge funds which gained 12.86% and 11.17% respectively.

Absolute return funds have had an impressive year in 2016, gaining 7.61%, well ahead of underlying markets and hedge fund peers which were up 7.33% and 4.46% over the same period respectively. Major global equity markets have ended the year in positive territory, supporting the performance of absolute return managers. Among regional mandates, North American absolute return managers topped the table in 2016, gaining 13.70% followed by their emerging markets mandated absolute return peers which gained 9.41% over the same period.

The Islamic finance industry is a niche market predominantly serving the needs of the world’s Muslim population. Products marketed under the umbrella of Islamic finance comply with a different investment philosophy as opposed to traditional investment philosophy which the rest of the world are familiar with. Under a Shariah-compliant framework, transactions which are considered to be unethical under Islamic law are prohibited and instead, fund managers invest in products which are compliant with Islamic guidelines. Islamic financial products are accessible to all investors, some of whom choose to allocate into Islamic funds for purposes of portfolio diversification or their preference in investing in products which deemed as socially responsible. In recent years, Islamic finance has been catching on with traditional finance institutions as international banks have expanded into providing Islamic finance services. As the use of derivatives, options and futures are deemed to be speculati

2016 has been quite a nerve-wrecking year as the global hedge fund industry anticipated and responded to a string of unexpected events. As such, market jitters were very much present for investors as the results of two major events which had happened - Brexit and the US Presidential Elections, had caught the world by surprise. The global hedge fund industry faced steep redemption pressure from investors this year, with total net outflows coming in at US$28.2 billion. On the other hand, managers posted good performance-based gains, up US$17.8 billion over the same period.

European hedge fund managers have had a challenging year in 2016, with redemption activity picking up for the past six consecutive months. Year-to-date investor redemptions stood at US$7.4 billion as of October 2016, a stark contrast from stronger investor allocations totalling US$32.4 billion over the same period last year.

The US$54.9 billion Latin American hedge fund industry grew by US$0.6 billion over the past nine months. Though a modest figure, this represents the industry’s first year-to-date asset expansion since 2013. Much of this year’s asset expansion is attributed to positive performance-based figures totalling US$1.4 billion while investors redeemed US$0.8 billion from the industry.

The US$1.49 trillion North American hedge fund industry has been resilient amid challenging market conditions, with the trading environment over the course of the year being a rather exciting albeit nerve-wrecking one so far. The industry’s assets under management (AUM) grew by US$19.1 billion during the year largely on the back of performance-driven gains (US$14.3 billion). Investor inflows were somewhat lacklustre this year with US$4.8 billion of allocations to date, down from inflows of US$40.5 billion over the same period in 2015.

Global financial markets have been peppered with a series of events adding to volatile conditions in the trading environment. Within Asia, monetary stimulus continues to be a main theme as global events weigh in on investor sentiment. The fallout from Brexit; though largely contained for the moment, and the US Federal Reserve’s unconfident march towards policy normalisation will be much watched for as 2016 draws to a close.

The first half of 2016 was certainly eventful as financial markets anticipated and reacted to global developments. Emerging market assets performed strongly towards the second quarter of the year as oil and commodity prices showed signs of recovery. Events in the developed world have also added to heightened volatility in the markets, especially in the days leading up to the Brexit referendum with investors fleeing to safe haven assets.

The European hedge fund industry continues to gain traction among investors despite market turbulence dominating the trading landscape since the start of the year. Investor allocations into the industry stood at US$13.4 billion over the last five months of 2016, up US$4.2 billion compared to allocations over the same period last year. Manoeuvring volatile markets has proved to be a challenge with managers posting year-to-date performance-based losses of US$6.8 billion, compared to gains of US$14.3 billion over the same period last year.

Since the onset of the global financial crisis, investors worldwide have grown more cautious in undertaking investments and have increased their demands for underlying investment products and instruments to be monitored by international compliance standards. The Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities or ‘UCITS’ was developed to meet this post-crisis demand, with certain restrictions such liquidity of the underlying assets and leverage caps to provide added transparency to investors.

The first four months of 2016 saw some renewed investor interest into the Latin American hedge fund space. Total assets for Latin American hedge funds grew US$0.8 billion as of April 2016 year-to-date, roughly twice the level of asset growth seen over the same period last year. The Eurekahedge Latin American Long Short Equities Hedge Fund Index and Eurekahedge Latin American Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund Index were up 11.21% and 8.53% respectively as of April 2016 year-to-date. Investor optimism in the region was evident as major Latin American equity indices rallied at the start of the year. The MSCI Latin America Index was up 15.24% in 2016 year-to-date as resilient oil and commodity prices have helped in pushing up the valuations of underlying assets.

The global funds of hedge funds industry faces numerous challenges with little let down in investor redemptions since 2010 as the multi-manager model has come under scrutiny over the years. Over the past year, the industry has faced steep redemption pressure from investors witnessing US$52.7 billion in investor outflows alone. Going into 2016, the industry continues to face redemption pressure with its seventh consecutive month of investor outflows ending March 2016. As of Q1 2016, investor outflows of US$5.8 billion were recorded while performance-based losses stood at US$8.1 billion, bringing the current assets under management (AUM) for the industry to a record low of US$451.9 billion.

The world economy had a shaky start in 2016 with investors flocking to safe haven assets amid a volatile market environment. The global hedge fund industry’s asset base contracted US$20.1 billion as of February 2016 year-to-date, with performance-driven losses a main contributor to this contraction. Performance-based losses stood at US$16.6 billion in the first two months of 2016 alone, while investor outflows of US$3.5 billion were recorded. The assets under management (AUM) of the global hedge fund industry currently stand at US$2.22 trillion, managed by a total of 11390 hedge funds. Going into 2016, further easing seems to be a main theme as central bankers worldwide have largely adopted accommodative monetary policies in an attempt to re-energise the current lethargy of the world economy.

The North American hedge fund industry continues to grow despite muted returns in 2015 when a challenging market environment saw underlying managers post sub-zero returns in what was the worst year for managers since the lows of 2008. However, not all was doom and gloom. North American managers running Asia Pacific, broad emerging market and European mandates ended 2015 in the green, while across strategic mandate arbitrage strategies; in particular managers employing volatility based strategies post good returns.

The Islamic finance industry has traditionally served the needs of the Muslim population which accounts for a quarter of the world’s population. This niche market operates by a different investment philosophy as opposed to a traditional investment philosophy which the rest of the world is more familiar with. The key characteristic that differentiates Islamic funds from other conventional funds is that it provides services to its investors inside a Shariah-compliant framework, prohibiting transactions considered to be unethical under Islamic law, engaging in products that are compliant with Islamic guidelines and promoting greater social justice by sharing risk and reward. In recent years, Islamic finance has been catching on with traditional finance institutions as international banks have expanded into providing Islamic finance services.

Market calamity took Asian hedge funds on a rough ride in 2015, and despite facing financial storms, Asian hedge funds have recorded positive assets under management (AUM) growth in the last quarter of 2015 with the industry’s total asset base growing by US$9.5 billion as of November 2015 year-to-date, bringing the total size of the industry to reach US$171 billion, managed by 1,423 hedge funds.

The European hedge fund industry has been gaining ground despite the challenging circumstances in the Eurozone region. Given the strong recovery posted by European hedge funds, March 2014 saw the industry’s assets under management (AUM) breach past its October 2007 pre-crisis AUM of US$478.1 billion. The situation in Greece earlier this year has not deterred AUM growth in the region with total assets climbing steadily to reach US$525.9 billion as at October 2015, managed by a total of 3,998 hedge funds. On a year-to-date basis, the total AUM of European hedge funds has grown by US$39.1 billion, largely on the back of strong investor flows which have account for the bulk of this growth.

Latin American hedge funds have been experiencing dwindling interest from investors over the last few years as they cope with redemption pressure and stagnating performance-based gains compared to other regional mandates. The global economic slump throughout 2015 has not spared the Latin American economies - commodity-dependent countries in the region were affected by the slowing growth of export destination countries such as China and the US. The fall in commodity and oil prices and the weakening of the real and peso are also affecting the ability of companies to fulfil their debt obligations, while political instability continues to affect the region. Meanwhile, depending on the Fed’s interest rate hike timing, capital outflows from the Latin American region could put them in a worse shape than before.

The North American hedge fund industry grew by US$54.2 billion as of 2015 year-to-date, on the back of strong investor inflows which account for roughly two-thirds of total asset growth in the region. Despite mixed economic performance in the US during the year, investor inflows stood at US$34.5 billion while performance-driven gains stood at US$19.8 billion year-to-date, bringing the total assets under management (AUM) of the North American hedge fund industry to US$1.48 trillion managed by 5,432 hedge funds as at August 2015.

The Asian hedge fund industry grew steadily in 2015 with the asset base growing at twice the rate seen over the same period last year. With strong investor inflows during the year, total assets under management (AUM) increased by US$16.1 billion in July year-to-date, bringing the total size of the Asian hedge fund industry to US$177 billion managed by 1,413 hedge funds.
In this month’s key trends in Asian hedge funds report, we include a feature on Greater China, a region which has made headlines since late-2014. Chinese authorities have sought active intervention in the markets with a series of interest rate cuts, municipal debt-swap programs and ease of banking restrictions through reserve ratio cuts and loan deposit ratios in an attempt to inject the Chinese economy with further liquidity. As such, Greater China mandated hedge funds have seen strong growth in the beginning of the year as the Chinese equity markets rallied on the backs of relaxed capital controls and improving infra

Along with this month’s key trends in Asian hedge funds report, we include a feature on Greater China, a region which has made headlines since late-2014. Chinese authorities have sought active intervention in the markets with a series of interest rate cuts, municipal debt-swap programs and ease of banking restrictions through reserve ratio cuts and loan deposit ratios in an attempt to inject the Chinese economy with further liquidity.

The global hedge fund industry has seen a steady increase in its asset growth after experiencing uninterrupted redemption pressure in the second half of 2014, with asset growth totalling US$93.0 billion for the first half of 2015. Much of this growth is attributed to excellent performance-based gains which account for US$51.7 billion, together with continued investor inflows accounting for US$41.3 billion.

The European hedge fund industry has been gaining ground despite the challenging circumstances in the Eurozone region. Given the strong recovery posted by European hedge funds, March 2014 saw the industry’s assets under management (AUM) of US$478.1 billion breach past its October 2007 pre-crisis AUM. The onset of the recent Greek crisis has not deterred AUM growth in the region as AUM continued to climb steadily from 2012 onwards, reaching US$506.8 billion, managed by 4,016 hedge funds in May 2015. On a year-to-date basis, the total AUM of European hedge funds grew US$20.1 billion, largely on the back of performance-based gains which account for roughly two-thirds of the total growth in European AUM in 2015.

The Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities, or ‘UCITS’, was designed to meet investor demand for well-regulated instruments monitored by improved compliance standards in the areas of investor protection, regulation and disclosure. The demand for UCITS products grew steadily after the financial crisis as UCITS hedge funds are of interest to investors especially during times of market stress. The regulatory bodies of the EU are continually updating and improving upon the product to maintain its relevance to investors, with the UCITS V being the most recent set of regulations implemented.

Latin American hedge funds have been facing dwindling interest from investors over the past few years as they cope with redemption pressure and stagnating performance-based gains compared to other regional mandates. Despite challenges in the Latin American hedge funds space, managers have reported gains of 2.32% in 2014, outperforming the MSCI Latin America Index which was down 4.21% last year amid a difficult market environment.

The global funds of hedge funds sector continued to face headwinds with total assets under management (AUM) of the industry in a steady decline since 2011. As of Q1 2015, the AUM of the funds of hedge funds sectors stands at US$505.9 billion managed by a total of 2,988 funds, having declined by roughly US$300 billion since their 2007 peak of US$808.7 billion.

The Asian hedge fund industry has kept up a steady pace of growth and returns comparable to that seen over the same period last year, with modest February year-to-date gains of 1.64%. Total assets under management (AUM) increased by US$3.5 billion largely supported by performance-based gains, bringing the total size of the Asian hedge fund industry to US$164.2 billion managed by a population of 1,382 hedge funds.

North American hedge funds recorded excellent growth over the past 13 months despite a slowdown in the pace of expansion since the second half of 2014, raising the region’s share of assets under management (AUM) by another US$93.8 billion to approximately two thirds of the global hedge fund industry. As of January 2015, the total AUM of the North American hedge fund industry is closing in on the US$1.45 trillion mark and stands at US$1.447 trillion managed by a total of 5,267 hedge funds.

Islamic finance plays a key role in the global economy, covering the financial needs of the currently underserved Muslim population. With Muslims forming a quarter of the world’s population, this is potentially a very large market, yet less than 1% of financial assets are Shariah-compliant. Indeed, there appears to be a clear supply imbalance and the Islamic fund industry has been growing steadily over the years to accommodate this demand. While it does not seem likely to have reached a peak, the industry is projected to grow significantly larger driven by a younger generation of Muslims who are more open towards investing in financial assets, and also by wider increases in productivity and prosperity.

Global hedge funds have maintained a steady pace of growth building upon the strong gains seen in 2013, with new investor allocation activity totalling US$40.8 billion in the first eleven months of 2014. Combined with excellent performance-based gains of US$76.5 billion delivered by hedge fund managers, this puts the current assets under management (AUM) of the industry at US$2.13 trillion – another new high.

India focused hedge funds have posted spectacular returns in 2014 against the backdrop of rising domestic equity markets, and a renewed sense of confidence in the Indian economy which is being led by Narendra Modi. Hedge funds investing with an Indian mandate have topped the performance tables in 2014 and in this special section of The Eurekahedge Report, we ask some of the top performing Indian hedge fund managers about their winning themes during the year, in addition to investor allocation activity and the key macroeconomic themes which they will be watching out for in 2015.

The European hedge fund industry continues its recovery amid a difficult market environment with current assets under management (AUM) standing at US$487.9 billion overseen by a population of 3,949 hedge funds. At its peak in October 2007, the European hedge fund industry’s share of global AUM was 24.9% which has since fallen to 22.9%. The total AUM of European hedge funds grew US$33.4 billion in 2014, largely on the back of new investor inflows, and is now 3.2% above its pre-crisis peak in 2007.

The Latin American hedge fund industry has continued to provide remarkable performance growth and diversification for hedge fund investors over the years, with the Eurekahedge Latin America Hedge Fund Index gaining 612.00% since its inception in December 1999, comfortably outperforming the MSCI Latin America Index in the past two years. 2013 in particular was a banner year for Latin American hedge funds which returned 1.73% while the benchmark index plummeted 7.93%. The total assets under management (AUM) of the industry currently stand at US$59.1 billion, managed by a total of 397 hedge funds.

North American hedge funds continued to record excellent growth for 2014 year-to-date, keeping up with the strong gains seen in 2013 which has raised the region’s share of assets under management (AUM) to approximately two-thirds of the global hedge fund industry. As at August 2014, the total AUM of the North American hedge fund industry has breached the US$1.4 trillion mark to stand at US$1.43 trillion managed by a total of 5,093 hedge funds.

Fund of hedge funds grew slightly during the year, with the Eurekahedge Fund of Funds Index gaining 2.59% in the first eight months of 2014, coming in behind single managers who returned 3.87%. Although the industry continues to face heavy redemption pressure, assets under management (AUM) of the industry saw a small recovery for 2014 year-to-date, with AUM climbing up to US$529.3 billion managed by a total of 3,122 funds.

UCITS, as defined by the EU, refers to the term ‘Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities’. They arose out of calls for an increase in the regulatory oversight of alternative investment managers, setting strict standards in the areas of investor protection, regulation and disclosure. The regulatory bodies of the EU are continually updating and improving upon the product to maintain its relevance to investors, with the most recent UCITS V set of regulations to be implemented by 17 September 2014.

Global hedge funds have maintained a level of growth comparable with the strong gains seen in 2013, with robust allocation activity totalling US$65.3 billion in the first half of 2014. Combined with excellent performance-based gains of US$40.3 billion delivered by hedge fund managers this puts the current assets under management (AUM) of the industry at a new high of US$2.12 trillion. The global hedge fund population now stands at 10,844 funds strong as at June 2014.

The Asian hedge fund industry struggled to duplicate their previous year’s outstanding performance amid a more volatile market environment, gaining only 0.31% but outperforming underlying regional markets by over 2% as at May 2014 year-to-date. Total assets under management (AUM) increased by US$5.2 billion during the same period, largely supported by fresh investor inflows, bringing the total size of the Asia hedge fund industry to US$152.8 billion managed by a population of 1,357 hedge funds.

The Latin American hedge fund industry has continued to provide remarkable performance and growth for hedge fund investors over the years with the Eurekahedge Latin America Hedge Fund Index up 14.5% on an annualised basis since December 1999 and total assets under management (AUM) of the industry currently standing at US$60.8 billion. Since the start of the new millennium the Latin American hedge fund industry has witnessed tremendous growth, both in terms of number of funds and AUM.

Islamic finance plays a key role in the global economy, covering the financial needs of the currently underserved Muslim population. With Muslims forming a quarter of the world’s population, this is potentially a very large market with consensus estimates putting the current size of the global Islamic finance industry somewhere in the region of US$1.6 trillion. This is further subdivided among Islamic banking, sukuk, takaful and Islamic funds - of which Islamic banking and sukuk issuances dominate the sector with 80% and 15% of total Islamic assets respectively.

Funds of hedge funds had a sluggish start to the year, with the Eurekahedge Fund of Funds Index gaining 0.53% in the first quarter of 2014. They enjoyed somewhat better performance during the previous year in which they reported gains of 8.16%, outperforming single managers who gained 8.10% collectively in 2013 with a higher risk factor. Although the industry continues to face heavy redemption pressure, assets under management (AUM) of the industry saw some respite in the first quarter of 2014, with AUM holding steady at US$524.5 billion managed by a total of 3,145 funds.

Funds of hedge funds had a sluggish start to the year, with the Eurekahedge Fund of Funds Index gaining 0.53% in the first quarter of 2014. They enjoyed somewhat better performance during the previous year in which they reported gains of 8.15%, outperforming single managers who gained 8.07% collectively in 2013 with a higher risk factor. Although the industry continues to face heavy redemption pressure, assets under management (AUM) of the industry saw some respite in the first quarter of 2014, with AUM holding steady at US$524.5 billion managed by a total of 3,145 funds.

The European hedge fund industry continued its recovery amid a difficult market environment with current assets under management (AUM) standing at US$461.7 billion overseen by a population of 3,988 hedge funds. At its peak in October 2007, the European hedge fund industry’s share of Global AUM was 24.9%, which has since fallen to 22.7%. The Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Index gained 8.39% over the past 12 months, with total AUM of European hedge funds growing US$83.5 billion during the same period, bringing it close to their 2007 high.

The North American hedge funds industry witnessed robust growth in 2013 with the total assets under management (AUM) breaching past the US$1.3 trillion mark, raising the region’s share of AUM to almost 70% of the global hedge fund industry. As at January 2014, the total AUM of the North American hedge fund industry stands at US$1.35 trillion managed by a total of 5,122 hedge funds.

The Asian hedge fund industry delivered excellent performance in 2013, beating underlying markets and outperforming its global peers during the year. The Eurekahedge Asia Hedge Fund Index gained 16.10% in 2013 with the total assets under management (AUM) increasing by US$20.6 billion. This brings the total size of the Asian hedge fund industry to US$147.0 billion managed by a population of 1,333 hedge funds.

Global hedge funds have had a good run in 2013, with the industry attracting net asset flows of US$127.4 billion in the first 11 months of the year. This robust allocation activity, combined with excellent performance-based gains of US$85.6 billion delivered by hedge fund managers puts the current assets under management (AUM) of the industry at US$1.99 trillion.

The Latin American hedge fund industry has continued to provide remarkable performance and growth for hedge fund investors over the years with the Eurekahedge Latin America Hedge Fund Index up 15.0% on an annualised basis since December 1999 and the total assets under management (AUM) of the industry currently standing at US$61.3 billion.

Funds of hedge funds have had a positive year so far in 2013 with the Eurekahedge Fund of Funds Index gaining 4.18% at September year-to-date, and outperforming the benchmark Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index in five out of the first nine months of the year. While a rebound in market sentiment has helped multi-managers post performance-based gains, their return to historical highs continues to be undermined by the trend of negative asset flows in the industry which were recorded at US$67.3 billion as at end-September 2013.

The European hedge fund industry continued its recovery amid a difficult market environment with its current assets under management (AUM) standing at US$407.8 billion overseen by a population of 3,900 hedge funds. At its peak in October 2007, the European hedge fund industry’s share of global AUM was almost 25% and currently it still remains below that level at 21.4%.

Against the backdrop of an increasingly uncertain regional macroeconomic situation, the Asian hedge fund industry has shown remarkable resilience in 2013. The Eurekahedge Asia Hedge Fund Index is up 7.77% July year-to-date, with the total assets under management (AUM) of the industry currently standing at US$139.0 billion managed by a population of 1,303 hedge funds.

The North American hedge funds industry has witnessed robust growth in 2013 with the total assets under management (AUM) breaching the US$1.3 trillion mark for the first time in May, raising the region’s share of global AUM to almost 70%. With strong launch activity since 2009, the total fund population has also reached the highest level on record with the total number of funds standing at 4891.

After witnessing excellent performance-based gains in 2012, hedge funds continued the momentum in 2013 while also witnessing allocations from investors. The industry has attracted net asset inflows of US$56.9 billion during the first five months of 2013 in stark comparison to last year which saw net outflows of US$3.8 billion over the course of 12 months. The robust allocation activity along with continued positive performance has brought the AUM of the industry to US$1.88 trillion as at end-May 2013.

The European hedge fund industry has witnessed significant trends over the last 13 years, starting with a period of strong growth, a broad-based decline in the industry and a recovery phase. In 2000 there were less than 500 European hedge funds with total assets under management (AUM) of US$39 billion. Over the next seven years the total number of funds increased tremendously to cross the 3,000 mark while AUM increased nearly twelvefold to reach a maximum of US$472.8 billion by October 2007.

Since the start of the new millennium the Latin American hedge fund industry has witnessed tremendous growth, both in terms of number of funds and assets under management (AUM). During this time the total number of funds in the industry has increased from just over 100 to nearly 500 &ndash; an increase of 500% in the fund population, while AUM has witnessed even more impressive growth. As at end-2000 total AUM in Latin American hedge funds stood at US$2.6 billion, while this figure stands at US$62.3 billion as at end-March 2013.

Funds of hedge funds started 2013 on a positive note amid renewed risk appetite in global markets. The Eurekahedge Fund of Funds Index was up 2.19% in the first two months of the year as underlying single managers witnessed strong returns on the back of rallying global markets. On the flipside, the trend of net negative flows continued from previous years as multi-managers saw net outflows of more than US$25 billion.

The UCITS hedge funds industry has witnessed tremendous growth over the last four years, both in the number of funds and in assets under management (AUM). As at the start of 2013 the total number of funds in the industry is estimated at 949 with AUM standing at US$215 billion.

Hedge funds started off 2013 in a strong fashion with the industry delivering excellent returns and also attracting capital from investors. Currently the size of the industry stands at US$1.8 trillion and is set to hit its historical high in coming months.

The Asian hedge fund industry started 2013 on much firmer ground than compared to previous years. The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index gained 9.79% in 2012 and total assets under management (AUM) in the industry were up during the year – currently standing at US$127.4 billion. The industry witnessed some tough times and fickle fortune since the financial crisis and over the last five years the sector has faced numerous challenges.

Over the last few years North American hedge funds have delivered a remarkable recovery from the global financial crisis, both in terms of assets under management (AUM) and performance. The industry has stood apart from hedge funds in other regions by attracting the greatest amount of assets since 2008 and also delivering four years of positive returns

The Latin American hedge fund industry has continued to provide remarkable performance and growth for hedge fund investors over the years and the Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index has delivered impressive annualised returns of 15.62% since December 1999. Since the financial crisis of 2008, the industry has also posted a remarkable recovery in terms of assets and the total number of funds in the region.

The last ten years have witnessed significant trends in growth and performance within the funds of hedge funds industry. At the start of 2002 the industry consisted of approximately 1,000 funds with assets of less than US$100 billion. Over the next seven years the industry expanded at an incremental pace to reach its maximum size of US$826 billion by March 2008.

European hedge funds have witnessed a challenging investment environment over the last two years amid heightened volatility, recessionary pressures and concerns over the European sovereign debt situation. While facing increased regulations from governments, the industry also saw net redemptions by investors in 2011 and 2012. The region’s hedge funds have adapted to the changed landscape through implementing various changes and as of end-September 2012 the Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Index remains in positive territory for the year with gains of 4.48%.

Asian hedge funds have witnessed tough times since 2008 and have faced numerous challenges over the last two to three years. The industry saw tremendous growth between 2000 and 2007, with the number of funds increasing eight-fold and total assets under management (AUM) growing by nearly 800%. By end-2007 the size of the Asian hedge fund industry stood at US$176 billion managed by 1200 managers.

Amid the uncertainty plaguing global markets and the broader financial industry, North American hedge funds have stood out as one of the few sectors that have witnessed growth and the industry maintains a healthy outlook for the future. Even among the global hedge fund industry North American managers have emerged stronger from the financial crisis of 2008 to 2009 with the number of funds at an all-time high and assets under management (AUM) touching historically high levels.

The global hedge fund industry has witnessed two distinct phases during the first half of 2012: two months of strong performance and positive asset flows, followed by four months of negative performances and net outflows. Currently the size of the industry stands at US$1.75 trillion, managed by over 10,000 funds.

Among all the regions in the global hedge fund industry, Europe has witnessed the most dramatic changes over the last five years. At the start of the new millennium the total assets under management (AUM) in the industry were only US$39 billion. Over the next seven years this figure increased nearly twelvefold to reach a maximum of US$472.8 billion by October 2007, while the number of funds also crossed the 3,000 mark by this time.

Amid an environment of increasing uncertainty in the markets, the Latin American hedge fund space has provided investors with continued growth and consistent performance. Since its inception in December 1999 the Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index has gained 538.22%. The sector has also witnessed tremendous expansion in terms of fund population and assets under management (AUM). Over the last 12 years the number of managers increased from just over a hundred in 2000 to 480 as at end-March 2012, while AUM increased from US$2.7 billion to US$58.9 billion in the same time period.

Funds of hedge funds started 2012 on a positive note witnessing the strongest January to February performance in six years. The Eurekahedge Funds of Hedge Funds Index was up 3% in the first two months of the year as underlying single managers delivered their best start to a year since 2000. On the flipside, the trend of net negative flows continued from 2010 and 2011 as multi-managers saw net outflows of over US$20 billion.

UCITS hedge funds have witnessed significant growth since 2007 as managers have continued to attract investment interest from insurance companies, pension funds and other institutional investors. As illustrated in figure 1, assets in UCITS compliant hedge funds have expanded nearly threefold with 912 managers overseeing US$190 billion of capital as at end-February 2012.

Global hedge funds witnessed remarkable and divergent trends in 2011, delivering negative performance but also attracting net positive asset flows for the year. As at end-December 2011, the total size of the industry stood at US$1.7 trillion while the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index finished the year in negative territory with a decline of 4.02%

The Asian hedge funds sector witnessed some mixed fortunes in 2011 with managers posting (on average) negative results for most of the year but also experiencing net positive asset flows. As at end-December 2011, the total size of the industry stands at US$124 billion managed by nearly 1300 funds.

North American hedge funds witnessed another year of strong growth in 2011, despite a flat to slightly negative performance amid unhelpful market conditions. The Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index registered a -1.13% return for the year, however the industry attracted US$55 billion in net positive asset flows from investors.

After posting strong growth in 2009 and 2010, European hedge funds have faced some challenging times in 2011. The Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Index was down 5.54% November YTD while assets under management (AuM); which had crossed the US$400 billion mark earlier this year, fell back to US$380 billion.

The global fund of hedge funds industry has gone through turbulent times over the last four years. After growing at an incremental pace from 2003 to mid-2008, the industry was hit with excessive losses and widespread redemptions during the financial crisis. Since then, multi-managers have struggled to attract a significant amount of assets.

Asian hedge funds have witnessed remarkable growth over the last decade in terms of both fund population as well as assets under management (AuM). As at August 2011 the total AuM in Asian hedge funds stood at US$135 billion; nearly six times that as of end-2000 while the number of funds increased more than six fold in that same period.

UCITS III hedge funds have continued to post significant gains through 2011, both in terms of assets under management (AuM) and the total number of funds. As at end-August 2011 we estimate there to be 740 unique managers1 with assets of nearly US$200 billion.

The Latin American hedge fund space has seen remarkable growth over the past decade. As of July 2011, the number of funds was nearly four times that as of end-2000, while assets over the same period recorded an increase over 23-fold. There are currently 442 operational hedge funds, managing over US$64 billion in assets.

Over the last 10 years Shariah compliant funds have seen significant growth, both in terms of the number of funds as well as assets under management (AuM). Rapid developments in the Islamic finance industry, have led to an increasing number of Shariah compliant funds employing different strategies and investing across new asset classes, representing the progress and advances made in the Islamic finance sector. In this report we discuss the key trends observed in the Islamic funds industry since 2000.

Despite an environment of increasing uncertainty in the markets, the global hedge funds sector has witnessed some strong trends in the first half of 2011. Chief among these trends: the industry attracted record inflows in the first 6 months of the year. As of end-June 2011, the size of the industry currently stands at US$1.81 trillion.

The North American hedge fund industry has witnessed some significant trends since year 2000. At the turn of the millennium, the sector accounted for more than 84% of the global hedge fund industry with US$258 billion in assets managed by 1,815 managers. Over the next eight and a half years, the sector witnessed exponential growth with assets under management peaking in June 2008 at US$1.247 trillion – an increase of nearly 500%. The fund population also increased significantly to cross 4,600 funds over the same period.

The social investing fund industry has seen phenomenal growth in recent years. The accelerating growth of asset inflows through 2010 and 2011 demonstrates strong demand for the industry. The Eurekahedge Socially Responsible Investments (SRI) database contains more than 1000 SRI funds with total combined assets of more than US$200 billion.

Over the last few years no other sector of the global hedge funds industry has witnessed greater change than European hedge funds. The region witnessed exponential growth in the five years between 2002 and 2007, reaching a maximum size of US$472.8 billion by October 2007 with the total number of funds crossing the 3000 mark. However the industry saw its asset base reduce drastically during the global financial crisis, losing nearly 40% of the assets between January 2008 and March 2009. In this report we analysed the main trends observed over the last five years in European hedge funds, and as a special feature we explore the growth of UCITSIII hedge funds in the post-financial crisis world.

The global fund of hedge funds industry witnessed some very strong trends over the last decade, in terms of size and population as well as different aspects of the industry’s make-up. After growing at an incremental pace in the 2003 to mid-2008 period, the size of the industry reached US$826.2 billion in March 2008. However excessive losses and widespread redemptions, triggered by the global financial crisis and some high profile frauds, reduced total assets under management substantially and by July 2009 industry assets fell to US$433.7 billion.

In relation to asset growth, performance, development of the service provider space and availability of new products and strategies, the Asian hedge fund industry has witnessed some remarkable trends over the last 11 years. At the start of 2000, there were less than 150 hedge fund managers that were investing in the region, including those based outside Asia, with a total AuM of less than US$20 billion.

The interest among investors for UCITS III hedge funds surged in 2010 and has continued into the start of 2011. In this report, we monitor the developments in UCITS III hedge funds and touch upon some of the key aspects of the industry such as location of managers, strategies being employed as well as looking at some of the main performance trends.

The Latin American hedge fund sector is one of the fast growing segments of the global hedge fund industry. Over the last decade, the total number of hedge funds in the region has increased four-fold while the assets under management has grown by nearly 25 times. Currently, the size of the Latin American hedge fund industry stands at US$60 billion.

The global hedge fund sector continued its robust recovery from the global financial crisis throughout 2010. The industry has witnessed strong inflows since the second quarter of 2009, while hedge funds across all regions and strategies delivered positive returns for 2009 and 2010, with some indices posting record gains during this period. The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was up 10.99% in 2010.

The Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index was up 13.33% during 2010 as the region’s hedge funds maintained their winning run. North American managers had posted record returns in 2009, and although 2010 was marked by high volatility and sudden swings in the markets, the funds continued to deliver consistent returns throughout the year. This was the third consecutive year that the region’s hedge funds outperformed those in other developed markets. Managers also attracted significant capital from investors in 2010, gaining US$60.4 billion in net positive asset flows – accounting for most of the US$70.6 billion allocated within the global industry during 2010.

The European hedge fund industry grew at a rapid pace in the first seven years of the last decade, with assets increasing 12-fold to reach US$464.30 billion at the end of 2007. Over the same period of time, the total number of hedge funds in the region increased six times to cross the 3,000 mark. However, as the global economy went into recession in 2008, European hedge funds went through their worst year on record, suffering heavy losses and witnessing unprecedented redemption pressure. This trend continued into the first few months of 2009, with industry assets reaching a trough of US$293.60 billion in March 2009, falling below the US$300 billion mark for the first time since 2005.

Global fund of hedge funds have witnessed a dramatic change of fortunes over the last two and a half years. The industry grew at a steady pace between 2003 and early 2008, with assets under management peaking at US$826 billion, before suffering considerable losses and widespread redemptions1amid the global financial crises.

2010 has seen the Latin American hedge fund industry emerge as one of the most dynamic sectors in the global hedge fund space. While performance and growth in most other hedge fund regions remained slow or registered marginal declines, Latin American hedge funds continued to provide consistent returns to their investors. The average Latin American manager has seen only two instances of marginally negative returns in the last 23 months. Figure 1a tracks the industry assets since January 2009.

The rapid development of the Islamic fund industry over the last decade represents the progress and advances made in the Islamic finance sector. The primary goal of Islamic funds is to engage in 'ethical investing' into products and companies that are acceptable to the Islamic faith. As such, Islamic funds are wealth management vehicles that cater to investors who want exposure to capital markets inside a Shariah framework, which is the key distinguishing factor from other conventional funds.

The Asian hedge fund space, which includes funds that are either based in Asia or investing in Asia, has been one of the fastest growing sectors in the global hedge fund industry since 2000, both in terms of assets and number of funds. However, the industry has also gone through difficult periods and diverse phases. After witnessing tremendous growth in the first eight years of the decade, Asian hedge funds went through a lean period in 2008 and early 2009 amid the global financial downturn and widespread redemptions.

The phenomenal growth in UCITS III hedge funds over the last few years has been one of the most interesting developments in the global alternative investment sector. Currently, the Eurekahedge UCITS III Hedge Fund Database lists 7752 UCITS III products, with another 500 to be added in the coming months. Furthermore, the Eurekahedge UCITS Hedge Fund Index, the industry benchmark and most widely used tracker in the sector, consolidates the monthly performance of 236 funds.

In our sixth monthly review of the global hedge fund industry, we revisit some of our previous analyses, such as strategic asset flows, distribution of new fund launches and performance comparisons, and also conduct new studies into areas such as average life span, survivorship and capital inflows into the different regions.

While the European headlines in 2010 have been dominated by woeful tales of sovereign debt issues, the region’s hedge funds have been delivering their mandated results by providing superior downturn protection and outperforming the underlying markets. The Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Index is up 0.25% June YTD while the MSCI Europe Index has lost 8.56% over the same time.

This report presents the findings of a study conducted by Eurekahedge analysts on more than 1,000 SRI funds. The aim of this research report is to find the aspects of the industry in 2010, such as where the funds are investing, which sectors and asset classes and what are the different criteria being employed.

After delivering excellent results in 2009, North American hedge funds continued the positive trend through the first few months of 2010. The Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index advanced 4.40% in the January - April 2010 period, carrying on the momentum from last year when the sector delivered the best returns on record by gaining 23.72%.

Based on data in the Eurekahedge database, we estimate the current size of the fund of hedge funds sector to be US$435.7 billion in assets, with 3,124 funds. The current assets under management represent a 17-fold increase in the size of the industry over the last decade although the sector witnessed considerable losses towards the end of 2008 and early 2009.

The Latin American hedge fund industry has seen tremendous growth in the last decade both in terms of performance and assets under management. Since its inception in December 1999, the Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index has gained 422.8% while the number of Latin American hedge funds has also increased four-fold over this period. The growth in assets under management picked up incrementally after 2003, registering a three-fold increase from 2004 to 2007.

Over the last decade, the global hedge fund industry has undergone exponential growth both in terms of assets under management and number of funds. Hedge fund assets hit their peak in June 2008 at US$1.95 trillion – a seven-fold increase since end-1999 – before declining due to drying-up liquidity, the collapse of some large financial institutions, tumbling equity markets and the resultant spike in risk aversion, which led to widespread redemptions.

One of the key developments in 2009 has been the surge of interest in the UCITS III framework among alternative investment managers. Against the backdrop of the global recession and some major financial scandals, there have been increasingly vocal demands for greater transparency, risk management and regulations for hedge funds. In this situation, an increasing number of managers have started looking at the UCITS III platform as a way to not only meet the requirements of existing investors but also to market their funds to new clients who have traditionally been sceptical about, or unable to, invest in unregulated products while at the same time, utilise their unique alpha-generating strategies.

The Asian hedge fund sector grew at an exponential pace through the first eight years of the last decade before witnessing heavy redemptions in 2008 and early-2009 along with significant losses due to the financial downturn. The size of the region’s hedge fund industry peaked in December 2007, reaching US$176 billion; however, the combined effect of withdrawals and performance-based losses brought the assets under management down to US$105 billion in April 2009.

The growth of Shariah-compliant funds over the last decade is one of the many manifestations of the dynamic development in the Islamic finance sector. The rapid expansion in the number of managers offering Shariah-compliant investment vehicles across the world demonstrates the increasing diversity of the industry in terms of asset classes and geographies. Currently, Islamic funds across the world are estimated to manage assets of about US$70 billion while the number of funds is about 680.

The Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index, which measures the performance of hedge funds allocating to North American markets, witnessed its best performance on record in 2009, posting gains of 23.45% through the year as strong rallies in the underlying markets across different asset classes worked in favour of the industry. This is a significant outperformance over the global average (19.29%) as well as the European hedge funds, which gained 21.69% during the same time period.

2009 has been a year of mixed fortunes for funds of hedge funds, witnessing record redemptions through most of the year while at the same time, posting one of the best performances year-to-date. The Eurekahedge Fund of Funds Index has gained 9.17% November YTD and is on track to have the best year since 2003. In terms of asset flows, however, 2009 has been the worst year on record, witnessing net redemptions of US$164 billion November YTD.

After experiencing some challenging times in 2008 and 1Q2009, Latin American hedge funds1 have rebounded remarkably in the second and third quarters of 2009, bringing the size of the industry above the December 2008 level of US$42 billion. Based on the data in Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund database, we estimate the size of the hedge fund industry in Latin America to be US$51 billion, with 417 hedge funds currently investing in the region. Latin American managers posted healthy returns of 2.46% in September, bringing their YTD performance to a strong 21.1% while also attracting capital, resulting in net positive asset flows of US$4.1 billion.

After a very challenging 2008 and 1Q2009, the European hedge fund industry has witnessed a remarkable growth during the March to August 2009 period, bringing the size of the industry back to end-2008 level. European managers returned strong results of 3.34% in September, bringing the YTD performance to 19% in 2009. This is the strongest YTD September performance since 2000 (when the sector had returned 21% by the ninth month). The sector had grown at a swift pace since 2000, reaching its highest point in June 2008, with assets of US$472 billion, before shrinking rapidly in the face of heightened volatility across all asset classes and massive redemptions in the latter half of 2008 and in 1Q2009.

After growing at an exponential pace for nearly five years, the Asian hedge fund industry suffered massive redemptions coupled with significant losses, owing to tumbling equity markets in 2008, bringing its size down from its peak of US$176 billion as at end-2007 to US$107 billion as at end-July 2009. Although the current level of assets is no different from that seen around the end of 2005, it represents a remarkable 24% compounded annualised growth rate since end-2000, compared to a 16% annualised growth rate for the global hedge fund industry.

The global hedge fund industry has seen exponential growth over the past decade, with hedge fund assets peaking in mid-2008 at US$1.95 trillion – a seven-fold increase since the start of 2000. However, the drying up of liquidity, the collapse of some large financial institutions, a spike in risk aversion, tumbling equity markets and the resultant spate of redemptions saw assets shrinking by nearly a third, hitting a low of US$1.29 trillion as at end-April 2009.

North American hedge funds (NAHFs) have been among the best performing hedge fund managers over the past two years; since the meltdown of the US subprime mortgage markets and spillover of resultant credit crises into other asset classes. The Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index has returned a healthy 5.2% over the two years since June 2007, while the S&P 500 was down 38.8% over the period.

Funds of hedge funds started 2009 on a positive note, outperforming (albeit marginally) their single manager counterparts, who faced high volatility in the underlying markets, amid widespread uncertainty regarding the health of the global financial sector and persistent recessionary concerns across the board. However, this outperformance was seen after a year of notable underperformance in 2008 – when funds suffered losses amid steep market downturns and unprecedented redemption pressures; the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index shed 11.6% during the year, while the Eurekahedge Fund of Funds Index lost 19.6%.

The Latin American hedge fund space has seen exponential growth over the past decade, with the number of funds and assets therein having recorded an almost four-fold and a remarkable 23-fold increase respectively, between end-2000 and end-2007. The Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index recorded impressive returns of 20.6% (annualised) during the period. However, the industry shrank over 25% in terms of assets during 2008, against the backdrop of slowing global economic growth, weakening credit markets, diminishing risk appetites and record-high redemptions out of hedge funds (US$12 billion from Latin America and US$219 billion globally).

After growing at a rapid pace for the past decade, the European hedge fund industry in 2008 shrank against a backdrop of heightened recessionary pressures and record levels of volatility across most asset classes. Based on the data of 2,3741 operational and 983 obsolete funds in the Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Database2, we believe there are currently 2,291 funds investing in Europe, managing US$300 billion in assets. This marks an increase of 58% in the number of funds and 133% in terms of assets, since the end of 2003. Up until 2008, the marked difference in the growth rates suggests a sharp increase in the average size of hedge funds in the region over the years, owing to superior risk-adjusted return which led a strong inflow of capital into the industry.

Hedge funds across the board faced a rough year through 2008, with Asian managers being no exception. The average Asian hedge fund, as measured by the Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund Index, fell 21.1% in 2008, with the region’s hedge fund industry shrinking by nearly US$50 billion (28%) in terms of assets. Based on the data of over 1,160 hedge funds in the Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund database, we estimate the size of the Asian hedge fund industry at 1,117 funds managing US$126 billion in assets as at end-2008.

After a very strong 2007, hedge funds faced a challenging year in 2008 (particularly the latter half) in the face of high volatility, collapsing banks, drying up liquidity, heightened investor risk aversion and severe redemption pressures. Against this backdrop, hedge funds had their worst year on record with the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index ending the year down 12.5%.

The Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Database contains data on 3,850 funds, based partly on which, we estimate the current size of the region’s hedge fund industry at 4,670 funds, managing about US$1 trillion in assets. This, despite a decline in both the number of funds and assets through 2008, marks an annualised increase of 6% and 12% in the number of funds and AuM respectively, since end-2003. Figure 1 shows the growth in the region’s hedge fund space over the past decade.

The Eurekahedge Global Fund of Hedge Funds Database contains information on over 3,000 funds based on which we estimate 3,324 funds in the industry, managing assets to the tune of US$646 billion as at end of October 2008. This marks an over three times increase in terms of the number of funds, since end-2000, and a remarkable 26-fold increase in assets over the same period.

The Latin American hedge fund space has seen remarkable growth over the past decade. The number of funds as at September 2008 was nearly four times that as of end-2000, while assets over the same period recorded an over 21-fold increase. Based on the data of 462 funds1 in the Eurekahedge Latin American database, we estimate there are currently 403 operational hedge funds, managing about US$52 billion in assets, across the region’s hedge fund industry as at September 2008. The figure below gives a snapshot of the industry growth over the past decade.

The European hedge fund industry has grown at a rapid pace over the past decade, with an 11-fold increase in the number of funds and a handsome 60-fold increase in assets. Based on the information of 3,150 funds in the Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Database, we estimate 2,361 operational hedge funds within the region’s hedge fund space, managing assets to the tune of US$445 billion. The following graph charts the growth of the industry over the past decade.

The Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund database contains data on over 1,5701 funds, based partly on which, we estimate 1,204 operational hedge funds in the Asian hedge fund industry, managing assets to the tune of US$171 billion, as at the end of July 2008. The industry has grown at a robust pace over recent years both in terms of assets as well as number of funds – assets have increased by over three and a half times, while the number of funds has more-than-doubled since December 2003.

Hedge funds continue to attract capital amid turbulent markets and slowing global economic growth, as lowered risk appetites drive investors to seek superior returns for their risk dollars. We currently estimate the size of the global hedge fund industry at near 8,200 single manager funds that together manage assets to the tune of US$1.95 trillion (as at end-June 2008), and expect industry assets to breach the US$2 trillion barrier by end-2008. Figure 1 illustrates the pattern of growth traced by single-manager funds over the past decade.

The total size of the North American hedge fund space is estimated at nearly 4,800 funds managing close to US$1.1 trillion in assets1; operating in the world’s most advanced financial markets, these funds account for nearly two-thirds of the US$1.8 trillion parked in hedge funds globally. Historically too, the North American hedge fund universe has been sizeable (refer Figure 1); to put it in context, their combined size in 2,000 is comparable to the current size of the Asian hedge fund space.

Over the last decade Shariah-compliant funds have emerged as one of the most eloquent expressions of Islamic Finance, exemplifying its evolution into a dynamic and diverse industry. Understanding the issues faced in developing, managing and investing into these financial products constitutes an integral component of Islamic wealth management.

The 2008 edition of the Eurekahedge Asia and Japan Hedge Fund Directory covers over 860 flagship funds and is the epitome of its online counterpart, which covers 1,1501 Asian hedge funds2. Based on this and related information, we currently estimate the total size of the Asian hedge fund universe at US$160 billion as of end-2007, up 21% from our end-2006 estimate of US$132 billion. Judging by this, the performance of the Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund Index (19% for 2007 and 12% annualised) and the general growth of the industry over the last decade (see Figure 1), the Asian hedge fund space continues to be on a robust growth curve on both counts – number of funds and size of assets.

The 2008 edition of the Eurekahedge Global Fund of Hedge Funds Directory contains information on close to 2,400 funds1. Based on this and related information, we estimate the total size of the fund of funds universe at US$747 billion as of end-2007, up 20% from our end-2006 estimate and accounting for over 45% of global hedge fund assets (up from 43% a year ago). Judging by this and the performance of the Eurekahedge Fund of Funds Index (which rose a healthy 10% in each of the past two years), 2007 has, in the main, been a good year for the industry. The industry has seen impressive growth over the past decade – in terms of the number of funds as well as the size of assets – as can be seen from a comparison of year-end numbers charted in Figure 1 below.

The Eurekahedge Islamic fund database has grown from its launch in 2006 to now encompassing information on more than 550 Shariah-compliant funds, keeping up with an industry that saw 131 new launches in 2007 alone. Despite this healthy growth, takaful-dedicated funds are few and far in between (with notable examples in Malaysia, Singapore and Bahrain). However, this doesn’t properly reflect the emergence of takaful and its importance in the overall Islamic funds industry.

The hedge fund industry in 2007 in Latin America continued on its course of impressive growth over the last few years, in an environment of favourable economic conditions and markets that were increasingly resilient to turbulence in the global economy. Industry assets nearly doubled in the last two years alone and it also turned in some of the best gains among hedge funds globally (the Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index has bested all regional Eurekahedge performance indices in terms of annualised returns over the last seven years at 20.4%).

The 2007 edition of the Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Directory is printed with over 1,900 flagship funds and represents the epitome of its online counterpart, which covers 3,2381 hedge funds that currently allocate to and/or are managed out of North America. Together with this and other related information, we estimate the total size of the North American hedge fund space currently at nearly 4,800 funds managing over USD900 billion in assets. Operating in the world’s most advanced financial markets, these funds account for over half of the USD1.7 trillion parked in hedge funds globally.

The 2007/2008 edition of the Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Directory contains information on 2,176 Europe-centric funds, an investment space currently valued at US$448 billion. Contrasted with an industry size of US$20 billion at the end of 2000, this represents an impressive compounded annual growth rate of 62% over the past six-and-a-half years. We estimate industry assets to reach US$494 billion by end-2007, managed by nearly 2,200 funds. The following graph charts the growth of the industry over the past decade, together with forecasts for 2007.

The Eurekahedge Islamic fund database has grown considerably from its launch last year to now encompass information on more than 458 Shariah-compliant funds (representing a 95% coverage of the market). Our analysis focuses on factual data, allowing it to be comprehensive as well as reliable. The Islamic fund platform encompasses funds from across all asset classes (equity, fixed income, real estate, private equity, etc) and our estimate of the total universe stands at approximately 480 funds, with 500 a feasible industry milestone by year end.

The 2007 edition of the Eurekahedge Asia and Japan Hedge Fund Directory contains information on over 1,150 Asian hedge funds. Based on this and related information, we currently estimate the total size of the Asian hedge fund universe at US$132 billion as of end-2006, up 30% from our end-2005 estimate of US$101 billion. Judging by this, the performance of the Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund Index (+16% for 2006 and +12% annualised), and the general growth of the industry over the last decade (see Figure 1), the Asian hedge fund space continues to be on an exponential growth curve on both counts – number of funds and size of assets.

The 2007 edition of the Eurekahedge Global Fund of Hedge Funds Directory contains information on close to 2,100 funds. Based on this and related information, we estimate the total size of the fund of funds universe at US$624 billion as of end-2006, up 35% from our end-2005 estimate and accounting for over two-fifths of global hedge fund assets. Judging by this and the performance of the Eurekahedge Fund of Funds Index (which rose 10% in 2006 in contrast to 7.7% in 2005), 2006 has, in the main, been a good year for the industry.

The hedge fund industry in Latin America has witnessed tremendous growth over the last few years in an environment of favourable economic conditions and markets that are increasingly resilient to turbulence in the global economy; industry assets grew at a compounded annual rate of 50% in the last two years alone, while turning in some of the best returns among hedge funds globally (the Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index has almost tripled in value since the turn of the century).

The 2006 edition of the Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund Directory contains information on close to 950 hedge funds, investing and/or located in Asia, an investment space that stands at just over US$128 billion as of the end of July 2006. Although the pace of growth of the industry has lessened (we expect the industry to grow 25% by number and 40% by assets, in 2006) compared with the past two years (for instance, the number of hedge funds in Asia grew by 35% in 2004 and 30% in 2005), in absolute terms, the growth is still substantial, with more than US$30 billion in net assets estimated to flow into Asian hedge funds in 2006.

Islamic investments have garnered interest over the years and have gained momentum not only from established participants but also from a variety of new entrants. While some outsiders would care to refer it as a subset of the socially responsible industry, the informed observer will note that the industry has taken a life of its own and is poised to develop further.

Based on the information contained in the 2006 edition of the Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Directory and other related information, we currently estimate the total size of the North American hedge fund space at over 4,000 funds managing close to US$840 billion in assets. Operating in the world’s most advanced financial markets, these funds account for over three-fifths of the total assets parked in hedge funds globally. Historically too, the North American hedge fund universe has been sizeable (Figure 1); to put it in context, their size in 1997 is comparable to the current size of the Asian hedge fund space.

The Eurekahedge European Hedge Funds database currently contains information on close to 2,200 Europe-based hedge funds, an investment space currently valued at about US$350 billion. From humble beginnings at US$20 billion in the late 1990s, the industry has grown at a staggering annualised rate of 72% since end-2000. We estimate industry assets to reach US$390 billion in value by end-2006 – an increase of US$85 billion from the end-2005 figure. The following graph charts the growth of the industry over the past decade, together with forecasts for 2006.

The Eurekahedge Global Fund of Funds Database contains information on 1,975 funds of funds. Based on this and related information, we estimate the total size of the fund of funds universe at US$370 billion. While the fund of funds space has grown both in size and number over the past year, the pace of growth (6% by number and 55% by assets) has slackened relative to the frenetic levels seen in 2003 (23% by number and 129% by assets) and 2004 (17% by number and 173% by assets). Figure 1 below gives a more comprehensive picture of the industry growth over the years.

The number of European hedge funds has grown rapidly over the last ten years, and the European hedge fund industry has witnessed a healthy growth both in terms of assets under management and the number of funds. By the end of 2005, the total number of European hedge funds is expected to hit 1,650 with total assets amounting to about US$350 billion (approximately 30% of the global hedge fund industry), more than double that of 2003.

The Eurekahedge Absolute Return Fund (ARF) Database has now grown to cover over 200 long-only ARFs that together represent in excess of US$20 billion in managed assets.
Long-only ARFs are a recent addition to the alternative investment landscape and have grown in both size and number only in the past few years. Their increasing popularity among institutional investors is driving more hedge funds – leveraging on their presence and experience in the equity markets – to launch long-only products. Also, over the years, huge capital inflows into hedge funds have brought on an environment of shrinking conventional opportunities, especially on the short side. Hence these funds find the long-only space a lucrative alternative, particularly so in relatively harmless, if not positive, equity market conditions.

The size of the Latin American hedge fund market (including both onshore and offshore funds) is around US$24 billion, representing approximately 2% of the global hedge fund industry. There are close to 200 hedge funds with a Latin American mandate, which saw an annualised growth rate of assets close to 60% since 1991.

Asia Pacific markets make up 15% of the world's market capitalisation but Asian-strategy hedge funds represent only 6.5% of the world's hedge fund market by assets. However, the robust growth seen since 2000, is a definitive indicator that this disconnect is continuing to close. Asian-strategy hedge funds have witnessed a strong growth since 2000, with assets increasing 35% per annum and Asia is also home to some world-class managers who typically still have capacity unlike in more developed markets.

While the year in 2004 saw respectable gains for many managers, it was not the stellar year which we saw in 2003. The ABN Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund Index gained almost 9% through the year, falling short of the 27% gains in the previous year. In contrast, the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Free Index and the MSCI AC Asia Pac. Free Index ex Japan rose by 16% and 19% respectively over the year.

Absolute Return Funds (ARFs) returned on average 3.2% for the month of November and have returned an impressive 9.5% year to date. Eurekahedge has over 150 funds listed in its Absolute Return Fund Database, where funds are categorised into Bottom Up, Top Down, Dual Approach and Diversified Debt. Among these strategies, Dual Approach funds, which combine a value, fundamental-driven stock picking approach with more top-down macro exposure than Bottom-Up funds, achieved the best returns - 5.03% - in November. Most of these gains came from emerging markets in India, the Baltic States and the Asia Pacific.

The boom in the fund of hedge funds (FOF) industry in 2003 was a hard act to follow. Although the number of launches was down from the previous year, total asset inflows continued at a record pace. Cynics predicted that the massive inflows of that year and slack regulation would be pursued by a rude awakening in the form of whittled returns, bloated portfolios and whip-cracking regulatory commissions searching to make an example as a warning to speculative, secretive managers, who have been blamed for almost every market shift this year - from oil price increases to fraud allegation-induced collapses in companies' stock prices.

The number of new funds jumped over the past four years for two reasons: investment bank closures or mergers in Brazil have forced money managers to set up on their own and the increase of Brazilian onshore assets into alternatives has spurred managers to leave established houses. Success stories like Gavea and JGP have also been an inducement. From the chart below, the number of new funds reached 37 in 2003 and we expect that number to be between 35 and 40 for 2004. We gather that the total hedge fund universe, both offshore and onshore, to be around 220 funds.

The number of new European-based hedge funds grew rapidly over the past year, though growth now appears to be slowing slightly. Investment bankers, analysts and fund managers continue to leave salaried jobs at major banks to set up boutique firms where the initial income stream may not arrive until two or three years after launch.

The Asian hedge fund industry is coming of age, with funds having had a stellar year in 2003; the Asian hedge fund index was up by 27% and assets under management rose about 75%. From inception in the late 1980s, growth was relatively pedestrian for most of the first decade. The late 1990s saw a marked change with a rapid acceleration of growth in the number of funds and assets, albeit from a low base.

The Asian hedge fund industry is still in its infancy, but the last twelve months have been a period of hectic growth. We expect dedicated Asian hedge fund assets to grow by 40% this year from US$14 billion to US$20 billion. The increase will comprise an estimated US$5 billion of net new money and US$1 billion through performance. In addition, we estimate that managers have a further US$4 to 5 billion of hedged strategy assets in managed accounts. The number of funds is likely to increase from 160 in January 2002 to 250 by the year-end.